I've just tested my PS276-1-BC charger and as suspected it must have failed shortly after laying up the van 7 months ago. I had the EHU connected permanently but obviously with nothing reaching the battery it discharged to such a point it was beyond recovery. The battery was replaced £75 but I'm having second thoughts about renewing the charger. The thing is we always camp off grid, (we don't have a solar panel but thinking about it) so the only time the battery receives a charge is when we get back home and plug in the EHU. Now my question is does the PS276 do anything more than charge the battery because if it doesn't I might as well not bother renewing it and use a smart charger when the vans based at home. One more thing, can the charger be used with the battery cables still connected. What I have in mind is to connect up a smart charger inside the battery housing fed from a 230v supply inside the van so when the hook up is connected-- whalla -- yes? Why would I do this, £150 v £20
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If you always camp off grid are you sure you have a big enough battery? In your circumstances I would have opted for a 110ah battery, or bigger if you could get it in the battery compartment, and it's unlikely you would get a decent one of those for £75. I can't remember exactly but the last 110ah one I bought and am still using cost me over £100 and that was a few years ago.
It would be quite possible to do without an onboard charger. They perform just two functions, charging the battery and providing 12 volt power without the battery.
My caravan is kept at home so I have access to it with a mains electricity supply. When I charge the battery before a trip away I use the caravan's own charger, so the battery will of course be connected to the caravan's electrics. However, when I am finished with the caravan for the season I take the battery off and take it indoors to charge with my smart charger. I have just always done it this way. The caravan's own charger is obviously designed to charge the battery in situ, whereas the smart charger, which is obviously much more sophisticated in design, is designed to charge batteries that aren't connected to anything else. They probably would be fine charging the battery in situ, but maybe they wouldn't, I don't really know. They could possibly be affected by the caravan's electrical system to which they would also be connected.
Thanks Collin The new battery that cost £75 is a 130ah. The previous one was 110ah which was adequate for our needs while off grid for a week or more and the 100 mile return trip recharged it enough to use the motor mover when we got home. When on CLs etc the 12v system is used very sparingly, ie for bedtime reading, the water pump is very rarely used. The other advantage of using a smart charger is it will charge 100% as apposed to 80%. I just need to find out if I can use it on a battery still connected in situ
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the PS276-1-BC is also a transformer, not just a charger, which means hat even if you removed the battery, you could still run your 12 v items once you plug into main ehu, so things such as your water pump and a couple of lights etc would still work.
have you been in touch with aupljack to see what they can do with your charger? it might be fixable
£130 for a 130 amp leisure battery? are you totally sure on that or have you got a car battery, something doesnt seem right for that price
Quote: Originally posted by marg6 on 04/3/2022
the PS276-1-BC is also a transformer, not just a charger, which means hat even if you removed the battery, you could still run your 12 v items once you plug into main ehu, so things such as your water pump and a couple of lights etc would still work.
have you been in touch with aupljack to see what they can do with your charger? it might be fixable
£130 for a 130 amp leisure battery? are you totally sure on that or have you got a car battery, something doesnt seem right for that price
According to the O/P it was £75 for a 130ah battery, which seems incredibly cheap to me. I would have expected to pay £140 to £160 for one that size today. I paid over £100 for a 110ah several years ago, and that was the cheapest price I could find for a genuine 110ah leisure battery. I knew the supplier too as I had dealt with them for years. Sadly they are no more, so I don't know where I will get my next one when I need it.
I have just recently had to buy a new caravan battery and paid about £90 for a 90Ah. This is sufficient for me as we really only need it for the motor mover and that is only over quite short distance, off the driveway to hitch up and maneuvering to the pitch.
A 130 Ah would have been far too expensive. Just surprised anyone can find a battery that large so cheaply. But, I am happy to be proved wrong.
One thing to remember about the smart chargers they are meant to top up the battery charge. The cheaper 20 pound version will only charge if you have certain level of charge already in the battery and would not touch a flat battery. However the more expensive smart chargers for example the Noco Genius will top up and charge from flat
A lot of the expensive smart chargers won't charge a dead flat battery they need a residual voltage to start charging.
A good old fashioned basic charger will often work if there is no residual charge.
saxo1
My 100 ah. 'Lucas' leisure battery is now 10 years old which cost me the best part of 90 quid back then. I purchased it direct from a battery supplier rather than a high street retailer because you cut out the middle man making it slightly cheaper and less VAT therefore I have to agree with other posts that £75 for a whopping 130 ah. leisure battery seems to be somewhat cheap. Even at that price for a car battery appears to be cheap at today's prices as I paid £150 just over 2 years ago for a 'Bosch' vehicle starter battery.
The battery supplier I used to get all my batteries from, I had known since I was in primary school as their premises then was right opposite the school. In those days they used to build their own batteries and refurbish batteries too, and you could watch some of the process through their front windows. I bought a battery from them for my first car back in 1965. It was in a rubber case and had big metal links on top between each of the cells. They stopped making their own batteries years ago, but it's still such a shame they have now gone.
The 130ah leisure battery was bought off ebay for £75. There are a few on there selling at that price but I chose the one with a 4 year guarantee.
If you think that's cheap I've just been given a Fairstone charger similar to a Numax which I hope to set up soon. Anyone know what size fuse the 230v 3 pin plug on this unit requires, thanks for your posts
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Quote: Originally posted by Logan1 on 05/3/2022
The 130ah leisure battery was bought off ebay for £75. There are a few on there selling at that price but I chose the one with a 4 year guarantee.
If you think that's cheap I've just been given a Fairstone charger similar to a Numax which I hope to set up soon. Anyone know what size fuse the 230v 3 pin plug on this unit requires, thanks for your posts
ok found them, as suspected they arent leisure batteries.
Quote: Originally posted by Logan1 on 05/3/2022
The 130ah leisure battery was bought off ebay for £75. There are a few on there selling at that price but I chose the one with a 4 year guarantee.
If you think that's cheap I've just been given a Fairstone charger similar to a Numax which I hope to set up soon. Anyone know what size fuse the 230v 3 pin plug on this unit requires, thanks for your posts
ok found them, as suspected they arent leisure batteries.
If it's the one I found, then they quoted a range of capacities depending on discharge rates, doing a like for like comparison with other true leisure batteries then it's rating looked more like 80Ah, which brings the price into a more realistic band and not so much of a bargain. Too cheap is always suspicious! - no one marketing a product is ever going to give away money, at best they always price just under the competition on a like for like product, too cheap doesn't really sell well as people expect an inferior product, only a pound or so cheaper is all it takes to win a sale from the competition!
Quote: Originally posted by saxo1 on 04/3/2022
A lot of the expensive smart chargers won't charge a dead flat battery they need a residual voltage to start charging.
A good old fashioned basic charger will often work if there is no residual charge.
saxo1
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Topic: Another battery question
via mobile 06/3/2022 at 7:46am
